Mishnah Kelim 28:6-7 · Beginner voice, Standard

Hook

Have you ever looked closely at that one favorite, threadbare t-shirt sitting in the back of your closet? You know the one. It has a mysterious mustard stain from three summers ago, a tiny tear near the hem, and elbows so worn they are practically see-through. Yet, you refuse to throw it out. You tell yourself, "I can use this as a rag to wash the car," or "Maybe I can cut it up and use it as a patch for my favorite jeans."

We love to salvage things. We love to hold onto pieces of our past, hoping we can find a creative way to make them useful again. But this raises an interesting question about our physical and emotional lives: When does an old scrap of something cease to be its old, messy self and actually become a brand-new creation? When we patch a piece of our old life onto our new life, are we bringing our old baggage along with us, or are we truly transforming it?